Hi everybody,
I haven't updated this for a while. There's a reason for that.
I have barely done any modelling for a while. There's a reason for that too.
I've been a bit stuck. This has been compounded by suffering a frozen shoulder. There's a reason for that too.
I ended up having to make well over 100 wing ribs after a few failed attempts to make the top wing. Usually repetition resukts in better results but somehow I kept making a total pig's ear of the job. After finally managing to get the 3 top wing components made I failed miserably to get the wing tips symmetrical. The resulting corrections caused a great deal of damage to the surface.
At this point I felt like quitting as using filler and primer would destroy the translucency I was hoping to achieve. The answer came in the form of clear UV cured resin.
BE2c wing tip correction. by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
With that hurdle cleared I set the dihedral and used 2 part epoxy to glue the top wing elements together. This was easier than expected, a simple bit of measuring from the drawings showed that clothes peg parts 8cm from the edge of the centre section gives the correct angle.
Brass rod (0.8mm) was threaded through the wing spars, bent at the right angle and the job was done.
20230626_131717 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
Once that had cured overnight I was really unhappy with the upper surface, trying to sand and buff it into shape caused more problems so more UV resin filling was needed. I found a bigger UV lamp online and coated the whole top surface.
BE2c scratchbuild by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
The resin needs to be brushed on with care to avoid introducing air bubbles but it cures into a very hard surface which sands well. The translucency is still there, even in the cloudy evening gloom so I feel happy to have got over the wing making stage at long last.
BE2c top wing by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
That's all of the major components made for this project, there are many fiddly things left to do but I finish work for the \summer next week so will have the time if I have any mojo left.
Many thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings, please feel free to comment, advise or admonish as you see fit.
Richie